After nearly a year since a garbage slide at the half-a-century-year old Repi Landfill claimed lives of 72 people and victimized hundreds more, the US Embassy in Ethiopia and the Addis Ababa City Administration are working closely to revitalize another landfill—the Sendafa Sanitary Landfill Plant—that remained closed due to a political uprising in the Oromia Regional State.

A team of 25 business delegates led by UK’s Trade Commissioner, Emma—Wade Smith, have met and discussed with more than seven-line ministries and government agencies looking to set foot in the newly rebranded Ethiopia, as the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) introduces a wide raging of economic reforms including partial privatization of some of the biggest State Owned Enterprises (SoE) in Ethiopia.

Following the adjustment of electricity tariffs ranging from 30 percent to 90 percent, which is expected to enter into effect in the upcoming month, industrialists across Ethiopia are criticizing the increments claiming that it is over-inflated and requested the tariff to be revised.

Amid budgetary support, the World Bank Group (WBG) has approved a commitment of USD 1.2 billion to Ethiopia this week, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private sector arm of the WB – said that it is working on a solar power program that will help generate 500 megawatt of electricity in the country.

Energizing Development (EnDev) program in partnership with Irish Aid has handed over 25 solar power systems which will benefit 125,000 people in the Southern and Tigray Regional States.

The Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and Enel Green Power (EGP), the Italian company that is set to sign a power purchase agreement to develop a 100MW solar power plant near Metehara town in the Oromia Regional State at a cost of 120 million USD, are going to acquire land from the regional state.   

Energy experts advised the Ethiopian government to build its institutional capacity to tap into the huge geothermal energy resources.

Tullu Moye Geothermal Operations Private Limited Company has embarked on the development a 520 MW geothermal project in the Oromia Regional State with an outlay of two billion dollars. 

Africa’s first Waste-to-Energy Facility was launched in the outskirts of the capital last Saturday, becoming the first such facility in the continent. Expected to have a processing capacity of approximately 1400 tons of waste a day, the facility was inaugurated in the shadow of Reppi Landfill which collapsed and killed scores of people, last year.

With Ethiopia moving to a strategy which helps embrace the wisdom of solar energy within the country and play catch-up to successes achieved in neighboring nations such as Kenya and Rwanda; HelloSolar in partnership with BelCash – the mobile banking platform system – is set to introduce a pay-as-you-go system for the nation’s off-grid population with affordable solar home system.